03 July,2015 08:29 AM IST | | Shashank Rao and Vedika Chaubey
The 136-year-old Hancock Bridge near Sandhurst Road, one of the city’s oldest bridges from the British era, is all set to be demolished
The 136-year-old Hancock Bridge near Sandhurst Road, one of the city's oldest bridges from the British era, is all set to be demolished. The Central Railway (CR) has claimed that this rail bridge has become too difficult to maintain, and it will be demolished by November this year.
Hancock Bridge near Sandhurst Road, one of the city's oldest bridges, built during the British era. File pic
This plan has been in the works for a long time now, as mid-day has reported earlier. Amitabh Ojha, divisional railway manager (Mumbai), CR, said, "In the month of November, the Hancock Bridge will be demolished, and later we will plan the same for Carnac Bridge. It may take nearly two months to complete the work and we are coordinating with the relevant departments."
Presently, authorities are chalking out detailed plans for carrying out this work for the 45-metre structure, which connects Byculla with Mazgaon. After its demolition, there will be detours for vehicles going from the east to west of the city at this point. Currently heavy vehicles have already been restricted entry.
The two bodies in charge of the reconstruction BMC and CR have been brainstorming and discussing over who would demolish and rebuild the bridge, and the civic body is likely to pay for the reconstruction. Sources said that the heritage value of both Hancock and Carnac bridges will be preserved.
Hancock Bridge was in the news recently, during CR's power upgradation to 25,000-volt AC supply. Due to its height, trains are running at a speed restriction of 15 km/h under the bridge. Once the new bridge is constructed, the speeds of locals will increase.
